Lead Me On Through
by bluepianos
Summary: Where pop-tarts and the rhythm of the snow have failed, maybe a blanket of stars and a yellow rose or two could do just the thing to make everything better. Wally/Zatanna, something new, post-Misplaced.


**Words**: 3,406  
**Disclaimer**: I realised yesterday that if I owned YJ, I'd put all of my favorite characters in a hell of a lot more angst and torture than Grandon ever would.

**Lead Me On Through**

He didn't really expect to be the one that made everything better. Sure, he was the team's comic relief and the guy who cracked jokes here and there but the two hardly even knew each other well enough for him to be the one who ended up making every single day better. Just better. Not significantly great or sunshine-daisies-butter-mellow shiny. Marginally better. But marginally better was definitely better than anything she'd been experiencing up until then.

Wally was not a fan of crying. He wasn't a cryer himself and he hated it whenever his mother cried, even for the most trivial reasons. It wasn't that he felt that crying was a sign of weakness. There were multiple ways to show weakness. Wally simply felt that the human eyes had far more important things to do than shed tears in response to emotional turmoil. In fact, he'd rather everyone just remain dehydrated and physically unable to cry instead of ever crying because it _just felt wrong_.

So of course he felt increasingly uncomfortable with every second that he stood outside Zatanna's door with his arms crossed, listening to every gasp, every sniffle, every sob. He didn't know what it was about the sound of her normally perky and mischievous voice suddenly breaking down and cracking into something raw and weak, but it was certainly doing something to him.

M'gann and Artemis told him that all she needed was a little bit of space and maybe a hell of a lot of time to deal with… the recent events, but Wally called bullshit when he saw it. She needed someone right now. The problem was, who?

The door to Zatanna's room opened suddenly and Dick stepped out in his green jacket, his dark sunglasses unable to hide the creased worry in his eyes. His face spilled it all. She wasn't taking her father's sudden departure very well. Wally couldn't imagine anyone who could ever be okay with something like this. Maybe Artemis because apparently she had balls of steel. But that was besides the point.

"Hey, KF," Dick said. Wally nodded at him but peered into the room just before Dick shut it close softly.

"How is she?" Wally asked.

"Not very good. I kind of just sat there and she kind of just cried the whole time," Dick responded, tugging at the wet shoulder of his green jacket.

"Yeah," Wally mused. "M'gann and Artemis say all she needs is time but you're doing good being there for her." Dick nodded.

"How about you? How long have you been standing here?"

"Long enough." Dick managed a small smile.

"Hey, you don't want to look like a creeper or anything. I think that's the last thing she needs right now," he joked and Wally shoved his shoulder indignantly.

"Dude, I care, okay?" he protested.

"We all care, Wally. She just really needs some space," Dick said. He gave Wally one more look and turned away to walk to the Cave's den.

Wally watched him go and after Dick disappeared around the corner, he glanced at Zatanna's door again. Leaning closely, he found that her breathing had slowed and he could hear the sharp sounds of boxes being opened and the soft clatters as she started unpacking her things.

For now, she'd have her time and space. But Wally, ever the persistent and stubborn one, knew that he could only last so long before he would have to step in to do something.

x-x-x-x

The next day, he found himself back at the Cave, about an hour early (a rare occurrence) before he was expected at the training centre to work with Black Canary. It was still mid-afternoon and the rest of the team was nowhere to be found. After questioning Red Tornado, Wally found out that Conner and M'gann were at some pep rally at Happy Harbor High School and wouldn't be back until a few hours later. Kaldur wasn't scheduled for any training that day either and after a few more questions, Red Tornado informed him that the team's leader had been called back to Atlantis to deal with royal matters with his king. Artemis and Dick had no real reason to be at the Cave either so Wally found himself alone, sitting in front of the TV watching the No Signal channel.

When his boredom really got to him, he settled on grabbing something to eat before heading to the backdoor of Mount Justice. After having explored the mountain a few times with Dick, Wally had discovered that there were some overhanging ledges with shrubbery serving as cover that provided really good brooding spots. He felt like today was a particularly broody day.

After snuffing around the kitchen, Wally grabbed a box of cherry pop-tarts before making his way to the back door. Once there, he stood outside on the ledge for a while, wrapping his jacket around him for warmth.

It was snowing. Wally opened his free gloved palm and watched as flake after flake of snow landed on the cloth, melting almost immediately. The gentle wind carried ribbons of sparkling dust and swirled them around in miniature white tornadoes. There was a crispness to the air that was a vast change from the sweet, humidity that Wally missed about summer. It was cold. Uncomfortably cold.

Normally Wally would have been ecstatic at the change in weather and at the endless entertaining possibilities. But the past few days had been dull and grey. Yes, grey definitely explained it perfectly. After the events with Klarion and the disappearing adults, there was a grim and somber air to the atmosphere in Wally's world. He'd never lost his parents before. _Never_. Suddenly having them whisked away magically one day was unprecedented and unfair. Only Klarion would have half the mind to do something so over the top and extreme.

Wally suspected he wasn't the only one who was feeling the doom and gloom lately as Dick hadn't called him in more than 48 hours but Wally suspected that, for the team, the gloom might have had something more to do with a certain magician.

Tired of brooding while standing, Wally made to locate one of the rocky ledges of the mountain when he heard a branch snap to his left. He immediately rose his guard, at the same time raising the pop-tart box over his head, and crept over quietly closer to the sound. There was someone behind that bit of shrubbery, perched on that ledge. How could he have missed them before?

Quick as a flash, he pushed the branch of shrubbery out of the way and was about to strike the apparent intruder when he realised that he recognised the head of ebony.

Speak of the devil.

"Zatanna?"

"Wally?" she squeaked out, one hand in front of her as if ready to cast a spell at the sudden interruption.

"Wh-what are you doing out here?"

"What are _you_ doing with that box of pop-tarts? Were you really going to attack me with it?" Zatanna asked skeptically. Wally opened his mouth to protest when he noticed the twinkle in her eyes. She was teasing him. Then he noticed the tinge of red on the corner of each her cyan orbs and frowned.

"Hey, are you okay?" He walked up to sit next to her and set the box of pop-tarts on his lap.

Zatanna sniffed and offered him a weak smile. She adjusted herself so that she sat cross-legged on the snow.

"Yeah. I'll be okay," she said. Wally eyed her uncertainly but nodded anyway. He opened the box of pop-tarts and picked one from the first pack. He offered the second pop-tart to Zatanna, who accepted it with a smile.

"Thanks," she said, biting into the pop-tart. Wally glanced at her sideways and took note of her appearance. How long had she been out here? Her cheeks and nose were red, as red as the cherry fillings of the pop-tarts he was about devour, and as she blinked, Wally could make out small snowflakes that had found a home on her eyelashes.

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" Wally asked, digging into his own pop-tart.

"Probably the same thing you were about to do," Zatanna answered.

"Jump over the ledge?" Wally joked. Zatanna laughed shortly and Wally took pride in that. The last time he saw her was a quick glance yesterday as he helped with her boxes before leaving the room with Conner and Kaldur and she had been so sad, so dejected. It was refreshing to the young magician's eyes crinkle with real laughter again.

"Maybe," Zatanna muttered, appearing to ponder the option. Wally snorted.

"You don't have the guts," he teased, opening a new pack of pop-tarts. "Besides, you have no reason to throw yourself off a cliff." Zatanna froze up next to him and it took Wally a second to realise that, hey, maybe she _did_ have a reason to fling herself into the depths of the ice cold waters of Happy Harbor and maybe she didn't want any Atlanteans or speedsters to save her, either.

"I-I, oh my God," Wally stammered, his mouth full of cherry pop-tart. He swallowed, "Zatanna, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, no, you're right. I have no reason to commit any form of suicide right now."

"Zatanna…"

"No, it's okay, Wally," she said, turning to lock blue eyes with green. "It's going to be okay."

For some reason, Wally got the feeling that she wasn't telling _him_. She was telling _herself_. It was going to be okay. They'd find a replacement for her dad. They'd talk to Fate. They'd convince that son of a bitch Lord of Order that what he was doing was wrong and that he should release Zatara. They'd put things back the way they should be. It was going to be okay. She'd get her dad back.

Wally sighed and put his pop-tart back in the box. He removed the box from his lap and placed it next to his leg on the ledge. He slowly, almost hesitantly, placed his hand on the knee closest to him and watched as Zatanna frowned deeply.

"Hey," he said gently. She turned to him.

"It _is_ going to be okay. Fate let me go, Fate let Kaldur go, we'll make him let your dad go, too," he said, looking at Zatanna earnestly.

"Wally, I don't really - I don't really want to talk about it," she mumbled stonily. Wally winced and removed his hand from her knee as if it were ice cold.

"Was that why you were out here?" he prodded, still eyeing the magician. "Thinking about him?" He didn't like the way her deep frown only seemed to deepen into a scowl, nor did he like the way her eyes flashed with not sadness this time but anger. But he kept asking, the fool he was.

If she wasn't going to talk about it now, then when would she ever?

"Zatanna, you can talk to me –"

"Maybe I don't want to Wally, did you ever think of that?" she snapped back in a tone so icy, it rivalled even Artemis's sharpest words. Wally looked to the frozen water of Happy Harbor, now frowning.

"I just thought you should talk about it," he muttered. Zatanna flashed a look at him. Had she been getting lessons from the archer or something?

Zatanna sighed and took a deep breath before responding.

"I … I appreciate it, Wally. But I'll be fine," she said adamantly. Wally didn't respond and watched from the corner of his eye as the girl got up, brushed the snow from her legs, shoved the snow-covered, shrubby branch out of the way, and walked back into the Cave. Once the metal door slid shut, Wally fell backwards on the snow sighing and covered his face with his gloved hands, the snow mixing with his red hair.

"You idiot," he mumbled to himself. He dropped his hands from his face and let them lay by his side. His left hand brushed against something solid and turning towards his left, he saw Zatanna's abandoned pop-tart.

He suddenly didn't feel like eating anymore.

x-x-x-x

Another two days later and a full three days ever since the Klarion fiasco, Wally waited until he was positive that Conner and M'gann had gone to sleep before sneaking out of his room. He'd made up some excuse about family problems so that the older teens wouldn't question his unexpected overnight stay at the Cave when there were no upcoming missions. Honestly, he didn't really want the rest of the team knowing what he was about to do.

The speedster found himself standing in front of Zatanna's door, right where he had stood a mere three days ago. He tapped the door with his fingernail, hoping against hope that maybe she'd be awake.

"Zatanna," he whispered. There was some shuffling from behind the door and a mumble before it opened.

"Wally?" Zatanna whispered behind slightly hooded eyes. He shushed her before urging his way in, shutting the door behind him.

"What're you doing here?" she asked tiredly. For the fastest boy in the world, it sure did take him a while to get a few things through his head. The first and foremost thing being that _she didn't want to talk about it_.

"I just wanted to apologise," he answered, raising a placating hand in the air. "And, I wanted to show you this." With a blink and a flick of his wrist, Wally's previously empty hand was suddenly holding a bouquet of fresh, yellow roses.

"What -" Zatanna stuttered and stopped.

Alright, she was no simpleton. Granted, he had just performed one of the most basic magic tricks known to man but the fact that he had learned it… and for her? Dick had filled her in on Wally's continual denial of the existence of magic and she'd never questioned it. She'd never really wanted to or needed to. From what Dick and Artemis told her, she knew enough. _Wally didn't like magic_. He just didn't like it. He didn't like how magic flung all inhibitions and logic into the air, not caring that no one would catch them when they fell back down to the earth. He didn't like how magicians and those with the affinity for magic and sorcery could embrace the inexplicable and just let it go without a decent, scientific explanation. He didn't like being unable to explain things and he didn't like not having a grasp on things. That was _his_ denial, just as her denial was that her father was going to come back. He _wasn't_ going to come back. At least, not for a very long time.

"Did you - did you learn magic? For me?" she asked quietly. Wally smiled weakly and held the roses out to her. She took them and sniffed the closest one. They were lovely and were just the additions she needed to brighten her room.

"Don't tell anyone. Di - Robin would never let me hear the end of it," Wally caught himself before he could reveal his best friend's identity before continuing, "I thought - I mean, it's not _real _magic, of course."

"Of course not. It's pretty lame, if you ask me," Zatanna smirked. Wally took that as a sure sign of encouragement and the corner of his lips turned up.

"Red Tornado told me you haven't uttered a single spell in three days. Not even a cleaning spell or anything," Wally explained. Zatanna looked to the floor. She didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed that Wally had been asking about her behind her back, but she let him continue.

"You're… you're a magician and not doing magic is probably the first sign of insanity," he said. Zatanna almost snorted but he wasn't done, "And denial." She snapped up to look him in the eye. He locked his gaze with her, unruffled.

"I thought you needed a little encouragement. Thought maybe if you saw a stubborn speedster do a little magic, you'd get back on your feet and feel better," Wally explained, shrugging one shoulder.

"Maybe - maybe you _aren't_ ready to talk yet," he admitted. "But when you are, I'm three doors away." He shrugged and lightly tugged on the collar of his shirt nervously and for some reason, Zatanna found the action endearing. She smiled and gave him a soft look.

Gathering up enough courage, the magician stepped up to the older boy and tip-toed to give him a kiss on the cheek. The moment her lips touched his lightly freckled cheek, Wally's neck flushed and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I just might take you up on that," she said quietly, smiling as a blush rose to her own cheeks.

"Uhh… g-good," Wally stammered. Wow, his little plan actually worked. "Then, I'll just… good night," he said in a rush, ducking out of the room before Zatanna could even say "Abra cadabra."

What she _did_ say after he left was, "Tniap siht moor wolley." With those words and a quick gust of air, the previously grey-walled room was suddenly painted a soft, pale yellow. Zatanna stood in front of her bed with her roses, satisfied with the change.

The roses stayed strong and healthy for the next month – longer than any normal rose. Zatanna often wondered if Wally _had_ gotten some kind of mystic spell to strengthen the flowers.

They refused to die for the longest time.

x-x-x-x

She talked to him after team dinner the next week. They sat on the same ledge again after she'd asked him to stay the night at the Cave and the rest of the team had either gone to bed or gone home. That night, the crescent moon shone down in fragile streaks of white light. The rest of Happy Harbor was silent, keen on resting up to prepare for a new, probably cold day. The sky was a deep black, clear of any clouds, and the gods above had thought to dot the dark canvas with the smallest and brightest of the stars; throwing a handful here, tracing wonderful patterns there.

Zatanna learned that night that Wally provided the perfect shoulder to cry on. She'd found some comfort when Artemis, M'gann and Dick hugged her, but Wally provided not only heaps of that, but steady streams of warmth, too. And all she probably needed in these cold times was a little bit of warmth.

Wally learned that there was a beauty in crying. (Actually, he learned that there was a beauty in Zatanna that he couldn't believe he never noticed before, but it was basically the same beauty, so.) He found that, in between gasps and trickling tears, the loneliest souls opened up when they cried, and he found that he was particularly good at catching those tears and holding onto the souls, telling them that no matter what happened, at least they wouldn't have to go through it alone.

Zatanna told him everything that night and Wally, able to squeeze in a few lame jokes about the team and about Happy Harbor here and then, listened and responded. He held her close. Closer than he'd ever held anyone before. Was she shivering because she was cold? He'd keep her warm. More than anything, Zatanna deserved to be warm.

When they'd been sitting on the ledge for almost an hour and Wally's butt was starting to numb from the cold, Zatanna murmured a thanks from her position in his arms. He looked down at her and wondered briefly how she'd found her place there and how he'd so willingly opened his arms to house her heart.

He realised he didn't care.

When he smiled at her cheekily in response and leaned to peck her on the cheek, they both knew that she deliberately turned _just so_ in order to meet his lips with hers.

Yes, Zatanna would be okay, and so would Wally. And no matter how long it would take, they'd both find a way to make things with Zatara and Fate _okay. _They would be okay.

Maybe even better than okay.

_And I know how you've hurt  
__and been dragged through the dirt  
____but come on, get back up.  
__It's the time to live._

* * *

(a) Those are lyrics from Patrick Wolf's song _The Magic Position_, which helped write this.

(b) The magic version of "yellow" is "wolley" and I realised that "wolley" is like saying "Wally" in an Australian accent or something. How cool is that!

(c) Ever since Dick said, "Sorry, that may have come off a little too Wally," and Zatanna replied with, "I don't mind," I kept thinking, _Wait, does that mean she wouldn't mind if Wally flirted with her?_ and all of a sudden I started shipping them because _wouldn't they be so cute together?!_

(d) Don't worry, Spitfire is still my OTP (foreverrrrrrr) but I took a break from _All Nighters_ when this story called for me. Hope you guys liked it and if you can, please leave a review telling me what you think!


End file.
